Community standards
Content policy
Folio is a home for writers who take their craft seriously. This page is the short version of what that means for what you can and can't publish here. It applies whether you're on the free tier or a Folio Press subscriber, and whether your work is public, paid, or a private link.
What's welcome
Nearly everything you'd expect from a serious book publishing platform:
- Literary fiction, general fiction, and the whole genre landscape — mystery, thriller, romance, fantasy, science fiction, horror, historical fiction.
- Young adult and children's books.
- Memoir, biography, essays, poetry, and short-story collections.
- Non-fiction: self-help, business, health and wellness, educational works, how-to guides.
- Serialised releases, works-in-progress, and Kickstarter-adjacent pre-launch teasers.
- Experimental structures, unusual formats, translated works, illustrated books.
Adult themes are welcome behind the 🔞 flag (see below). Difficult subject matter — grief, addiction, abuse, war, mental illness — belongs in serious literature and belongs here.
Adult content — the 🔞 flag
When you publish a release, there's a tickbox for "adult content." Use it if your book contains mature themes intended for readers 18 and over:
- Sexuality on the page, written with literary intent.
- Strong language throughout.
- Graphic violence in a legitimate narrative context.
- Mature psychological or thematic material — trauma, addiction, extremist ideology as subject matter — that a younger reader shouldn't stumble into.
Flagging adult content isn't a warning label we hold against you — it's how we keep the Folio Shelf browseable for readers of any age. Adult-flagged folios still appear on the Shelf, they just carry a 🔞 badge and are gated from previews shown to signed-out visitors.
What's not allowed on Folio, period
These aren't permitted regardless of tier, framing, or "artistic" justification:
- Pornographic content. Folio isn't a home for content whose primary purpose is sexual arousal detached from a story. Literary sexuality within a novel is welcome behind the adult-content flag; content that reads as porn with a plot bolted on isn't.
- Real-world gore. Photographs or descriptions of actual real-world violence, abuse, or death presented as spectacle. Fiction that depicts violence in service of a narrative is fine; content that exists to show real harm isn't.
- Content that sexualises minors, in any form. No exceptions. Reports to folio@jacobsiler.com or the appropriate authorities. This is the hardest line we draw.
- Incitement to violence against specific people or groups. Fiction that depicts extremism critically is welcome; content that reads as a rallying cry isn't.
- Content that exists purely to shock, degrade, or hurt. If the only answer to "why did you write this?" is "to see if it would upload," it doesn't belong here.
- Deliberate impersonation. Publishing under someone else's name, or writing content that could be mistaken for a real public figure's own words, to deceive readers.
Violating this policy means the release is taken down. Repeated violations mean your account is restricted or removed. We prefer to have a conversation before we do either, so if a release ends up in moderation and you're not sure why, email us.
How moderation works
Every release that opts into the Folio Shelf enters a moderation queue before appearing publicly. A human moderator (currently a very small team) reviews the release and either approves it or rejects it with a short reason. You can still see your own pending listing while it waits — nothing feels broken from your side.
Editing a listed release and re-publishing sends it back through moderation. This isn't us being suspicious — it's how we keep the Shelf accurate as authors iterate.
Appeals
If a release is rejected and you disagree, email folio@jacobsiler.com with a link to the folio and a short note about why. We read every appeal.
Reports
If you find content on Folio that violates this policy, email folio@jacobsiler.com with a link to the release and a brief description. Reports about content sexualising minors are handled first and fastest, with the appropriate authorities looped in.
Last updated: 7 July 2026. This policy will evolve as Folio grows.